HomeComing
by Blood For Blood
Summary: Being an American soldier in Vietnam isn't very fun, just ask Marcus. Casulties are being shipped off home, and he's one of them. Sequel to Scratching The Surface.
1. Chapter 1

Hiya. This is Marcus here, back and more violent than ever! Thanks to me being drafted and sent off to Vietnam, I know how to reload a revolver with one hand… plus, I can reload a M14 in seconds. I was only in war for half a year due to… an on the job injury? Hell, I don't know what you'd call it.

Well, lucky me, I got drafted, and so did Willis. One of my buddies from the mines. We got hauled off to the trenches in Nam.

"Good to see ya Marcus." Willis greeted as our helicopter took off.

"Same for you Willis. How you been?"

"Well, we're in Nam… so not that good."

"Quiet ladies! We're landing now. Get ready, you will be sent into the trenches in exactly one hour!" the sergeant yelled.

The chopper landed, and the bay door opened. We all rushed out, and ran into a poorly built shack. There were about ten people in our team, and we were all supposed to be "special" soldiers. I was a support specialist. I used a Stakeout shotgun, M19 revolver, KA-BAR knife, and always carried an E-tool, or an entrenching tool. Willis was assigned with the M60, and Hank was his Feeder. Our medic was a doctor who got drafted (What a surprise), his name was Anderson. He was a good guy. Our leader was a combat tactician named Campbell. He was a serious bastard, never took a joke. No one made jokes about him though, he was the boss. And we had a few other guys I never learned about.

The Sergeant never got off the chopper, and it just flew away. Campbell stood in front of us, and explained our mission for the day.

"Listen up! We were sent in to reinforce an outpost down in the jungle. This ain't no casual walk through the park either! The men there have been developing some kind of armor, and we need it. Gear up and move maggots!" Campbell yelled.

We all grabbed our gear, which was all leaned up against the wall. I picked my Stakeout up, and strapped it on my back. I holstered my M19, and sheathed my knife. I strapped on my E-tool's holster, and waited by the exit.

After everyone geared up, we headed out into the jungle. We walked silently along the jungle path, careful to avoid any traps that could've been set. The Vietcong's are crafty bastards. They set up spikes hidden by leaves and the spikes are covered in human feces… yes, poop. It's supposed to act as a toxin.

Well, we did a horrible job at that. After we neared the location, one of our guys fell into a pit. Before we could do anything, he was dead. A spike was shoved through his neck, stomach, and leg. Of course he was dead.

"Nothing we can do. Keep moving, and kill one of those bastards for him." Campbell said.

We all continued our way, ignoring the fact that was just lost a man. We found the place after half an hour, and wasted no time in entering.

The sight was horrible. Dead bodies everywhere. Blood spattered on the walls. Some poor guy had his head blown to bits. I think I found some of it on the other side of the room.

"Damn… the locals can really kill. Alright ladies, search for that armor!" Campbell broke the silence.

Everyone sweeped the area looking for the armor. I really wanted to see it myself, considering we lost about sixteen good men for it. I kicked open a wooden door to a pure white tiled room. There it was, a large, black suit of armor. Complete with boots, helmet, vest, pants. It reminded me of Big Daddies. The armor, the odd shaped helmet. I saw a slip of paper on a desk. I looked at it. It was the design for the armor. I stuffed it in my pocket and grabbed the armor. I walked out of the room with the armor on my arm.

"Sir, I found it!" I called out.

"Alright, let's get outta here."

Before anyone made a move, and live hand grenade flew into the room. Everyone hit the floor, but I unfortunately, was too close. I felt shrapnel fly through my leg. I winced, but didn't make a sound. Willis ran to my side, and pulled me out of the line of fire. Somehow, we got into a firefight with a bunch of Vietcong's.

"Marcus, are you alright?" Willis asked over the sound of gunfire.

"Yeah, I just got crippled by a fucking piece of metal the size of a quarter. I'm fine!" I snapped.

"Alright, we need to get you outta here."

After a few minutes, the gunfire stopped. We didn't move though. We knew they were still out there. Then, a shot flies through the window and hits me in the ribs. This time, I let it out.

"Fuck! This hurts like hell ya' know!"I cried out.

We stayed there for another half an hour. I was losing blood, we all knew it too. But Campbell insisted on us camping out, waiting for it all to blow over. While I awaited the grim reaper to come and take me, I examined the armor more. The helmet was two-pieces. The top was a helmet and neck guard. The bottom was a face cover. When together, there was a slit for the eyes. That was it. The vest was about two layers of bullet proof armor, just like the pants. The boots were heavy military grade boots. The legs had braces on them, probably to help support the wearer, as the armor was pretty heavy.

After another half an hour, I gave up all hope. But hell, at least my tea was there. No one should die alone, right?

Willis st next to me, attempting to ensure me that everything will be alright. I was pretty sure that it wouldn't have been.

"Sir, we need to get him outta here now! If we don't, he's gonna die!" Willis yelled.

"We aren't going anywhere. We will wait until they are gone, do you hear me?" Campbell barked back.

"What about this armor? Why don't we try it now?"

"How do you propose we do that?"

"Give it to me. I'll try it out." I interrupted.

"What? Now, you're wounded."

"No Willis, I'm dying. I'd rather die in a firefight than bleeding like a stuck pig."

"…Fine, gear him up."

I tossed my helmet to the ground, and strapped on the top of the armored helmet. I did the same to the bottom, and stood up. I pulled the vest on, and belted the bottom into place. I kicked my boots off, and stepped into the heavy boots. I picked up my shotgun, and cocked it. I stepped to the door, and kicked it open. I felt bullets ping against my chest, but I was never touched.

I launched slugs into the enemies before me, killing them all almost instantly. After a while, I ran out of ammo. So, I threw my gun to the side and opened my E-tool. The edges were sharpened so that bastard was like a battle axe. I felt like a juggernaut.

I slashed and hacked my way through at least twenty locals before they started to fall back. I knew by that time that the armor was some kind of government secret not meant for public eyes, because I had wasn't touched by a single shot. The team followed shortly after. But that was a bit too late. I passed out on the evac zone.


	2. Chapter 2

I awoke to the steady sound of a heart beat monitor. Oxygen tubes were running into my nose, a blood pack was dangling above my head, and I was hooked up to it. My left leg was hoisted up, with a bandage wrapped around my shin. More bandages were wrapped around my waist. The air was cool, but my right wrist burnt like hell and I didn't know why. I heard chatter in the hallway, but I was too weak (lazy) to lift my head up and look. I could tell it was a male and a female, but nothing more than that.

"I'm sorry sir, but he's asleep. Please leave him be."

"I'm a good friend. We saved each other's asses, and now he needs me." I heard a familiar voice.

"Willis, you Sunnava Bitch!" I called out.

Willis walked into view with a huge grin on his face. He sat down next to me.

"Try not to grin so wide, you might break your face." I chuckled.

"Have a nice nap?" Willis asked.

"Slept like a baby." I replied.

So, Willis and I had a long conversation. I told him about my wrist, and he said I probably just slept on it. We talked about the Charlie's (Viet Cong) next move. Willis said they interrogated one, and he said they were gonna try to push us out. Then, the nurse made him go back to his barracks. She gave me three shots, and made take some kinda pills. Two of those giant ass horse-pills, and three capsule pills. Never seen anything like em' before.

I finished the last pill, and the nurse started to change my bandages. She started with my leg.

"Hey, what kind of pills were those?" I asked.

"The yellow ones were vitamins, while the blue ones… well I don't know. A scientist came in here and asked about you. I told him you saved your squad with that fancy armor, and he said that you needed to take these. He didn't say why. But Corporal Lewis said to listen to him." She replied.

After the nurse finished changing my bandages, I fell back asleep.

I woke up to some kinda hellish shaking. The entire building was rumbling like a nuke just hit the place. Willis ran in, with a pistol in his hand, and blood spattered on his face.

"Willis, you look like you just beat a Charlie to death!" I cried as I sat up.

"Charlie's trying to push buddy. Tango just tried to ambush me downstairs. Get up, we gotta go. NOW." Willis replied.

I jumped outta bed (completely overselling it) and limped to Willis. I wrapped my arm around his shoulder, and he helped me hobble out. I pulled another pistol from his holster, and fired off some rounds at any Charlie's I saw. Once we got to the Armory, Willis let go of me and led the way. I heard a round or two, and saw a dead Tango lying on a table. I saw three other soldiers guarding the Vault, along with the nurse from earlier, and a guy in a lab coat.

I hobbled past the group, and into the Vault. I found my usual gear, and locked and loaded.

"You're Marcus, correct?" I heard from behind me.

"Hell yes. Now, I have to go kill Tangos." I replied.

"Wait! Take these."

I turned around, to see the guy in the lab coat holding the black armor. His head was shaved, and there was a bruise on his left cheek. He shoved the armor at me. I took it, and strapped on the helmet. I geared up _again_, and walked out of the Vault. I cocked my Stakeout.

"Hell yeah." Willis and I high-fived, "We are back in business."

Marcus and I led the group out of the Armory, and figured out our path as we went.

"I'd think we should secure an E.Z. in the forest." Willis said.

"I'd think you're right my friend. Let's kick ass!" I replied. I kicked in a door, and threw a live frag in.

I heard some Vietnamese, and then a boom. I peeked around the corner and saw the carnage. I stepped in, and laughed.

"Irony can be a real bitch Charlie." I mumbled smugly.

"Marcus, we gotta go. No time to gloat." Willis interrupted.

I stood up, and walked to the next door. I kicked it open, and stepped out into the jungle. Willis and the rest of the group followed. Leading the way, I felt a little prick on my right wrist. Then, the armor beeped… and then, I felt something clamp down on my wrist. I let me shotgun hang on its sling, and drew my E-tool. I had to chop a branch or two to make it into the designated clearing.

"Well, here's your E.Z. Now what?" a soldier asked.

"Gimme your radio, that's what." I instructed.

He handed his walkie-talkie over. I turned the channel dial, until I heard a panicked voice.

"Oh shit, oh shit! What do we do? They're coming out of the walls! They're coming out of the damn walls! GAME OVER MAN, GAME OVER!" I heard.

I hit the talk button. "Calm down soldier. We're popping green smoke in the jungle. Follow it, we got an evac coming."

"Alright… what are you gonna do 'till then?"

"Call for the Evac."

I turned the dial.

"What the hell is going on out there? Yard 121, gimme a Sit-Rep now Damnit!"

"Hey!" I called into the walkie-talkie, "Yard 121 is under attack! We need an Evac now! Land on the green smoke!"

"Rodger that Yard 121, Honey-Bee is on the way."

I handed the radio to the soldier.

"Honey-Bee? Sounds like…"

"Honey-Bee is a mean bitch. She brought down two Cobras. Best pilots we got to offer." I interrupted.

I pulled out a flare, and popped the top. I tossed it to the ground, seeing as it's hot as hell. Don't worry; I didn't burn the jungle down. I dropped the flare onto a patch of dirt. The smoke the flare produced was green, and suffocating. We all hid behind the tree-line 'till the other survivors arrived.

**Thought I was MIA, huh? No way. Try and find the reference to the Aliens movies.**


	3. Chapter 3

I hobbled over to the seat next to Willis, and sat down. Willis set his hand on my shoulder and chuckled.

"Told you I'd get you outta 'Nam alive." He said with a smile.

"No you didn't." I replied.

He stared at me for a second. "Shut up."

We both shared a laugh, and then went silent. People around us kept on talking, but everything seemed to stop for a minute or two… but that didn't last, I sorta miss the peace and quiet. Willis stood up, and looked around. I shot him a funny look before remembering where we were. Hell yeah, we were home… back in the US of A. After we got to the evac zone, the chopper took us to the only non-hostile airport for miles… too bad I can't remember the name… well we landed in an Airport in south Maine. Turns out Willis has family in Maine, and they came to pick him up. Don't understand why he's coming home early with me? Maybe this will help explain.

**Earlier on the plane**

The plane was filled with casualties, such as me. Most of the seats were taken out to accommodate, but not all of them. Willis and I sat in two of the remaining seats.

"Willis, not like I'm not happy to see you, but why are you on a ride home for _casualties_?" I asked.

"Never told you, did I?" Willis replied with another question.

Willis stood up, and pulled his shirt up. His chest was bandaged, with a red spot up on his left shoulder. I shook my head silently.

**Back to now.**

Willis looked around for ten minutes before he spotted his family. I could tell, one, because I saw them too. Two, I saw him light up, and he took off running. I chuckled to myself as a full grown man ran off like a five-year old towards his family. But I can't blame him. If my "family" were there, I'd of reacted the same way, if I could've ran, at least. I closed my eyes, and almost fell asleep… _Almost._

"Marcus! Hobble your ass over here!" I heard.

I sighed, and pushed myself to my feet. I groaned as I limped over to Willis. I planted my hand on his shoulder, mostly as a crutch. There stood his family. Nice bunch of folks. Well, in order to cut shit short, I'm just going to explain what happened, instead of writing it all down.

So, I told Willis I had to get going. But instead, he invited me to stay with him for a while. So, I accepted. While staying with Willis, he and I got tattoos. Hell yeah, right? They were matching skulls, with the same hats the Viet Cong, and flames in the eyes. Under it, it said in bold letters, "_**TANGO DOWN**_". It looks bad-ass to say the least. Well, after a week with Willis, I got on a train back home.

A three hour ride on the train, and then an hour walk back to the house. The walk sucked, since I was limping the entire way. I wasn't expecting what happened next.

I knocked on the door. But there was no answer. I knocked again, to no avail. I opened the door, and peered inside. The place was empty. Fucking empty!

"Hello? Anyone? Son of a bitch…" I mumbled as I leaned against the wall.

I tossed my bag to the floor, and collapsed. Today was turning out to be really, really terrible. I walked around the house a few times, and just took in the memories. Good and bad. That's when I found an Audio-Diary. I picked it up, and flipped the switch. Eleanor's voice came on.

"Marcus, if you found this, it means you came back early… I'm sorry, but we moved. Mother and Father don't know I'm recording this, so I'll have to be quick. We moved because Father got a new job, in San Francisco. I'm not sure if you'll even care anymore… but if you do, please come find us. We miss you Marcus. _Eleanor!_ Oh… that's Mother. Goodbye…" the recording cuts off.

I wanted to just hurl the diary at the wall, but I just couldn't. I dropped it, and fell to my knees. San Francisco? Damnit, that's across the damn nation. North-West to South-East… I was pissed. But I still moved on. I walked back to the train station, bought a ticket, and waited for another hour for the next train. It was a three hour ride back to the airport, and I was tired as hell. I stayed awake though. And then, after getting my shit together at the airport, I boarded a plane to San Francisco. It was another three hour ride, but I was way too tired. I fell asleep on the plane.


	4. Chapter 4

The ride over was a real bitch. Even though I slept through it all. I'm so screwed up, sleeping hurts. What does that tell you? So, there I was in San-Francisco. But I had no clue where to go next. So, I did the next best thing. I went to the nearest military sign-up post. See if they could help me out. Us soldiers gotta stick together, ya know?

"I assume you're here to sign up?" the man at the front desk asked me.

"No. I already did. I'm a casualty. Wanna see the scars?" I replied.

"No thank you… how can we help you?"

"I need information, if you got any. I need to know who to talk to if I wanna find out where a specific family lives."

"The mayor. That's obvious, isn't it?"

"I'm a veteran Damnit! Don't back-sass me!"

On that note, I stormed out. I wasn't about to get lip from someone who hasn't even experienced combat… bastard… after that, I wandered for a while. Then, I found a map of the place. San-Francisco is a big place… so; it took me around half an hour to find the City-Hall… fancy looking place. Let me tell you, a shot-up soldier boy like me did not belong in there. But I was there anyway.

I walked in, and right up to the front desk.

"How may I help you?" the lady behind the desk asked.

"I need to see the mayor." I replied.

"I'm sorry, but he's busy. Please come back later."

"Ah come on, help a vet out. I got shot in Vietnam, and I just want to go home. But I don't know where home is!"

"Well… I guess you could go in."

"Thanks."

I walked into the mayor's office. The mayor was staring out the window in his office. I knocked on his desk, and he turned around quickly.

"Uh, hello. How can I help you?" the mayor asked.

"I need to know where the Lamb family lives." I replied.

"I can't just hand out our citizen's locations. It doesn't work like that. Now, is there anything else you need?"

"I need to find the Lamb residence Damnit!"

"I must ask you to leave sir."

"Fine. Throw out a veteran. You sir, disgust me."

I stormed out of the office. Even if they didn't want to help me, I'd still find them. I'm determined, and persistent. And slightly pissed off. Or I was, at least. Well, I just wandered around for a bit longer. By a bit longer, I mean a day or two. Yeah, I just walked around for a full day. I've went for around three days on two hours of sleep, so I was fine. But I was pissed.

Well, my luck was about to change. I was walking through a park when it happened. I turned my head to the ground for a minute, and I just stared at my boots while I walked. Whilst walking, I bumped into someone who was reading a newspaper. We were both knocked on our asses. The man dropped the newspaper to yell at me.

"Watch where you're going idiot!" he snapped.

"Well screw you too buddy!" I replied as I stood up.

Imagine my surprise when I turned to see Willis on the ground in front of me.

"Willis, you glorious bastard!" I called out as I pulled him to his feet.

"Marcus. Who'd a thought you were the idiot I bumped into?"

"Excuse me?"

"Uh… nothing. So, what are you up to?"

Willis and I walked around for bit while I explained my predicament. About the mayor, and the plane, and all of that. It took about an hour for me to explain everything that happened over the course of the past few days.

After that, Willis invited me to stay at his apartment for a few days. But I was still trying to figure out why the hell he has so many places to stay. It's like he's on the run or something. But I'd never turn down a warm bed.

I spent one night at Willis' place, and then went back to searching for the Lambs. I started asking people around, and it took my five hours to get a reply from someone. They told me that they knew a guy by the name of Johnny Topside, who was always talking about someone named Lamb. I asked him where, and he said out on the outskirts. I took off running.

It took me an hour to make it to the address the man gave me. But I was there. I knocked on the door, and waited for a moment. The door opened, and I was surprised by what, or _who_ I saw.


End file.
